Part sports psychologist, part logistical whiz, part team player. Part cheerleader, part adolescent advocate, part administrative presence.

But Manheim Township's Tim Hollenback is all athletic director (AD) all the time. One could say that Hollenback is pretty much a typical AD, if in fact there were such a thing.

"The ultimate goal for athletic directors is to have kids look back on their high school years and say, 'I really enjoyed that time,'" said Hollenback, who's been the Blue Streaks' athletic director for two years. "Our job is to provide a supplement to the classroom, to provide an outlet and hopefully have some success. I think it's important for these kids to see coaches and administrators who care. There are a lot of things sports can teach you."

Athletic directors are administrators who work behind the scenes to ensure student-athletes, coaches, parents and fans are afforded an opportunity to achieve success, whatever that may look like. ADs are the unsung heroes of sports on the high school level.

Hollenback is in charge of the scheduling of athletic events, officials, transportation, athletic trainers, scorekeepers, game managers, event workers and anything else that could be taken for granted at sports contests. He's also charged with the task of hiring coaches and assessing their fits for the sportsmanship standards Manheim Township has set for itself.

"We do strive for excellence in our department," said Hollenback. "To me, it's very important that I'm there supporting the teams. I've made it a goal that the kids see me and that we have representation at every athletic event. Basically, what we're trying to do is get the administrative stuff done in the mornings and then in the afternoons, get out to support the kids. We want to see our teams have as much success as they can. We're rooting for them."

"It can be a grind for sure. We don't work the traditional 40-hour week," continued Hollenback. "It's a team effort. We as athletic directors have a lot of pressure on us. But we wouldn't be able to do what we need to do if we didn't have excellent staff and coaches. You don't have success without incredible people."

Manheim Township sponsors and supports 70 high school and middle school teams in 28 sports programs. Those sports are played by more than 800 student-athletes and overseen by more than 100 coaches.

"It's not all about winning," said Hollenback. "Certainly, we want teams to have success. But it's about developing people and setting them up for life. For some kids, the classroom isn't their thing. But if you put a ball at their feet and place them with a coach who cares, you're onto something special."

As times have changed, so has the role of athletic directors. The emergence of social media has forced ADs to adjust how they promote their schools and their student-athletes and how they present sporting events to parents and the community.

"That's another piece of making sure you're at the games, so you're telling the stories," said Hollenback, a native of Delaware County. "There are some very inspiring stories that are occurring. We want to make sure game experiences are something parents and kids can be proud of. We're doing all the ins and outs that make sure events go off without a hitch."

"I look at an athletic director as being a coach of the coaches," added Hollenback. "I look at myself as a mentor to a lot of our coaches. The relationships we have here are really, really good. We're a team. We're all Blue Streaks. We all bleed blue. We're excited when anyone succeeds."

For additional information about the Manheim Township athletic department, go to http://www.mtwp.net/athletics.